1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to woven sheeting material and in particular to plainwoven sheeting material for institutional use and to a method of making the same.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known in the art to provide woven sheeting material, such as, plainwoven sheeting material for institutional use wherein such institutions include hospitals, nursing homes, rest homes, and the like. However, the sheeting material proposed previously for institutional use is made in what is referred to as a balanced weave utilizing substantially the same number of warps and wefts in each unit of surface area, such as a square inch, for example, of the sheeting material. Further, the sheeting material proposed previously for institutional use employs a blend of natural material and synthetic material in both the warps and wefts thereof whereby with the usual blend of natural and synthetic material defining each warp or weft there are generally equal quantities or considerably more synthetic material than natural material in the previously proposed sheeting material whereby such previously proposed sheeting material has certain deficiencies which will now be described.
The provision of sheeting material having substantial quantities of synthetic materials therein, such as a polyester, results in a material in which stains are very difficult to remove. This phenomenon is due to the fact that a synthetic material is basically oleophylic and thereby has a tendency to attract oils, such as body oils emitted from the body of a patient, for example.
There is also a tendency for sheeting material having substantial quantities of synthetic materials to become dull and unattractive after about 100 institutional laundry cycles, where a laundry cycle comprises washing, drying, ironing and possibly steam sterilization of a particular sheeting material. Even though such sheeting material is usable after 100 of such cycles there is a tendency to discard such sheeting material because of its poor appearance.
Sheeting material which has been proposed previously for institutional use often is provided with a chemical no-iron surface treatment or finish. Such a treatment tends to degrade cotton fibers of the sheeting material and further tends to make the removal of stains, particularly oleophylic stains, even more difficult.